County legalizes shipping containers

By CYNDY COLE
Sun Staff Reporter
Monday, December 24, 2007


Those big, metal shipping containers commonly found around Coconino County and Flagstaff will be allowed in the county, the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday on a 4-1 vote.

The boxes had previously been banned in the county, but had proliferated nonetheless.

There are some restrictions that will be enforced if a neighbor complains.

In residential areas of Coconino County, homeowners who buy the boxes to use as permanent storage sheds will be allowed a box up to 8 feet by 20 feet in size.

Residents who rent them or plan to buy them next year need to inquire about applying for permits.

Businesses in the county that use the boxes to store surplus inventory or as work space will be allowed containers twice as large, or 16 feet by 20 feet, with a building permit. Fees will vary based on the number of boxes a business rents.

"I think it's a pretty good compromise," said Gillian Bleeker, of Bleeker's Boxes, which has rented out more than 400 boxes around northern Arizona, sometimes as far away as Gap and Tuba City.

People use the boxes for storage while moving or remodeling, and Bleeker's even has metal containers that are electrically wired to serve as offices.

Bleeker's and a few others in the storage business originally opposed regulation of the boxes, saying customers didn't want extra fees or paperwork.

The county had been working on a suitable solution for nearly a year. Next, the supervisors might have to tackle whether owners can use shipping containers as homes. A Coconino Community College student is studying the feasibility of living in one.

The city of Flagstaff is planning to take a look at the issue of shipping containers inside the city limits, too.

For more information, call Coconino County Community Development at 226-2700.

Cyndy Cole can be reached at 913-8607 or at ccole@azdailysun.com.

I was watching a "this old house" episode where they were taking these shipping containers and using them as homes.
The boxes were lined up, had holes cut into them to install doors, windows, and passageways then sprayed with a ceramic insulating paint that would provide the equivalent of R-19 for only a couple of mils thickness.
It solved the problem of what to do with a surplus of these shipping containers, provided extremely inexpensive housing for those that couldn't afford much, and thanks to the insulating paint were extremely energy efficient.
Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of these going up as homes in the near future, and would love the idea of taking a couple of these things, putting in skylights, spraying it down with the insulating paint and then burying them for the ultimate in energy efficient housing.

There have been many discussions and plans put out about burying shipping containers for low-cost fallout shelters.

I have the book "Dare To Prepare" by Holly Deyo (Stan Deyo's wife. Stan Deyo has been on Art Bell's Coast to Coast radio show many times discussing survival, geo-politics and terrorism issues). Chapter 42 has several plans for converting shipping containers into shelters.

We recently took possesion of an 8'x 20' shipping container from Bleeker's Boxes. It's great! Almost new, costs us about $80/month with half of the payments going toward purchase. Purchase price is about $4000, as I recall. That's about twice what Holly Deyo claims they can be bought for. Maybe they CAN be found cheaper . . . I'd have to look into it.

I think it would be cool to convert one into a buried shelter/root cellar someday. I would have to pick up some welding skills and equipment, though.

We had them at our'horse ranch. They where nice, inside they had nice wood walls so we could mount our' Tack. We also put our' grain in 1 and saddles etc. in another. They where $ 1,800.00 at the time in the mid: 70's and 80's. Depends if you buy new or used and delivery charges. They stayed nice and cool for the hot summers we have in California. For a underground unit , I guess the hardest part would be besides trying to dig in 4 Hills ground would be to put some type of entry once the unit is in the ground Be great for; Tornadoes they should use them in Tornado Alley P.L.R

Will these ok to have in 4 Hills ??? I know we are in an un-incorporated area but will home owner asscoiation allow them??? I would like 1 later as they are great to put hay and Tack in, we had them at are old ranch. We would paint our camouflage or paint Trees and animal pictures to blend in to our surroundings if H.O.A would let us do this P.L.R

Bruce, have you seen anything further on this? I would think after fitting out one as Kirk suggested, they would be perfect for containing the battery banks or to be used as a workroom. At $4K, even if you had to have someone else do the welding, they would still be cheap for a comparably-sized flimsy storage shed. And they could easily be painted to match whatever color your home is so they wouldn't be offensive to anyone.

Bruce,
Can you post the link or info where you purchased the container? Also, anyone know if putting one of these "as is" on our property violates any CCR's, Bylaws, etc? Because of the size (8x20 or 160sq ft), this is greater than the 120sqft "county permit" requirement, so if I call it a storage/work shed, do I need a county permit?

Yup... the wheels are churning on this idea.

I also saw a recent GREEN show where they had world wide competition for building the best sustainable house and a group of students (don't recall where - may have been back east) used this idea for building a large modular home.

This has potential.

Bleeker Boxes is the company we lease the containers from. Out of Flag I believe. We have an option to buy our container for ~ooo, but I know for a fact that overseas shipping has ground to a near halt with empty containers stacked up like cordwood. Good deals should be out there for the bargain hunters if you're willing to look and play a hard game.

There are lots of sites on the web showing all the fancy hipster ways that people with more money than brains have used to convert shipping containers into hip homes. Personally, I'm more intrigued with the folks who have turned just one or two containers into buried--or partially buried--homes that can house a family as well as hold a large cache of food for a sane amount of money. They may not win any hip design awards, but who cares really?

They want four thousand effin dollars for the Bleeker Box. I don't think so . . . .

Bruce,
that sounds like a lot of money for a metal box. For me, I was thinking of converting it into a home... with perhaps 2 put together. Want to compare the price for converting them vs. other standard techniques. Figure a prefab home, or on site building of comparable dimensions would be the comp.

Of course, the external would need to be revamped, if it were to remain above ground.

Putting it into the ground also has its benefits. I believe the external metal frame and/or the hole it was being placed in would have to have some sort of seal or protective barrier to prevent the thing from rusting out after a dozen years.

All in all, still sounds like a viable idea. Will let you know what I find out in terms of cost comparison.

Later
b

Just as an FYI, if you want to get official about the use of metal storage containers, here is the county zoning on use of the containers. If our CC&R's don't stipulate otherwise, the county rules apply to 4HR.

Check http://www.coconino.az.gov/comdev.aspx?id=144 and check out Section 14.7: Metal Storage Container Boxes. 4HR is considered a "General Zone" (G). Seems like they really don't want them used for housing as they allow electrical as part of the building permit, but not plumbing. In 14.7.E.1.b it states: "The only utilities permitted shall be electricity for lights and outlets, i.e. there shall be no plumbing or mechanical. The addition of electricity requires an electric permit.". I don't know how frequently the county offers waivers to the zoning rules...

Brian, the plans for a real home that just happens to look like a shipping container is at this site. It is really small but as explained in the thread could be done w/ 2 structures connected. I really like this little house and can easily envision it at the top of my hill.

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/z-glass/

For those of you that are considering turning these boxes into homes, I will mention this. The Ceramic insulating paint is not a scam, it works great. I painted my trailer with it last fall and saved about 75% over the last year. I was so amazed with it, that I ordered more to add a couple of more coats. I'm hoping that a good case of flatulence will be all I need to stay warm next year.
If your interested in checking it out, it's called hy-tech thermal paint additive.

Well, its been a little over a year... and I just checked some prices on containers. 20' at $1800... a lot cheaper than a year ago or at Beeker Boxes. However, this is in Arizona and I would expect some healthy costs for transportation of the 2 ton crates. Anyone have a crane helicopter I can borrow?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/for/1662508044.html

I wonder what other obstacles. I will have to call the county and dig into this more.

No plumbing? We could get around that with a inlet hole and exit "vent" hole in the side of the container, right? Use an indoor compost or low/no flow toilet... or just make an outdoor "shanty", with all the bathroom fixings... but attach it to the container home.

For the kitchen, well, that would be very basic without plumbing.

I haven't read or heard of any issues associated with our CCR's. Of course, we would apply the appropriate painting/camouflage of the exterior and if I included a "basement cellar" would be a great setup!

I would estimate a rough figure for under $10K (probably even less), a person could have a good solid 320 sqft home (2-20'ft containers stacked) with all the basic conveniences. That is roughly $30/sqft - not bad!

Bruce, I would be grateful if you could share a design or two from your book.

thanks Brian

oh yeah... total size. 480sqft minimum for a residence in the CCR's. Tessa just brought that to my attention. So instead of 2 containers, make it 3 which is right at 480 sqft.

I had gone through the post. The shipping containers are of increasing interest to architects who plan to make them into homes, offices and other buildings through simple. Those big metal shipping containers commonly found around many of the countries and Flagstaff will be allowed in the country, the board. Could you please provide some more attachment links for the detailed view of the topic?


paint accessories

thermal insulation paint

The shipping containers are of increasing interest to architects who plan to make them into homes, offices and other buildings through simple. Those big metal shipping containers commonly found around many of the countries and Flagstaff will be allowed in the country, the board.



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